What Is Sunlight Degradation?

The sun can damage almost any material that’s installed on your home. As the chemicals throughout your modified bitumen, shingle, or single ply roofing are continually exposed to this ultraviolet radiation, the materials can continue to break down and degrade.
It’s difficult to protect a roof from sunlight and if the heat continues to build up in these materials it often causes them to expand and they can begin to cool when they contract as well. The roofing materials can continually experience long-term damage as this cycle is repeated but by choosing the right roofing system it’s possible to avoid replacing roofing systems sooner than they have to be.
Sunlight degradation can often lead to damage to your roof in the form of discoloration, warping, cracks, and blisters. If you have darker roofing materials this can often shorten the lifespan of your roof and increase your energy costs over time if you don’t have the right amount of insulation installed in your roofing system.
Reducing sunlight degradation can often mean choosing cool roofing coatings, taking a look at the insulation inside your home as well as maximizing ventilation throughout your roofing area. Cool roofing materials or double reflective roofing materials are often some of the best ways to cut down on the UV radiation damage on your roof. These types of roofing coatings will reflect UV light back out from the roof and make sure that your roofing materials can break down much more slowly over time.
If you are planning to make an impact with your roofing materials it’s important to consider the overall roofing system options, your climate, and the right roofing system that you would like to install. Working with a professional roofing contractor can make sure that you can enjoy the right roofing installation and prevent sunlight degradation wherever possible.
This post was written by Ted Williams! Ted is the owner of A Old Time Roofing which is the premier Pinellas County roofing contractor! Ted is a Master Elite Weather Stopper GAF Roofing Contractor, a double award winner of Best Steep-Slope Contractor from GAF and achiever of Master Elite Consumer Protection Excellence from GAF. He has been serving the Pinellas County area since 1978. A Old Time Roofing has been a tradition in quality workmanship, servicing residential and commercial properties.